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Zim medical doctor scoops special HIV and AIDS award
ited States Embassy in Harare, Public Affairs Section
November 29, 2007

Dr Geoff Foster, a consultant Pediatrician with the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare based at Mutare Provincial Hospital, won a special award at the 2007 Auxillia Chimusoro HIV and AIDS awards.

The Auxillia Chimusoro awards are sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the 2007 awards coincide with the 20th anniversary of the year Auxillia Chimusoro went public about her HIV and AIDS status. Karen Freeman, Director of USAID, said her organization has "honored Auxillia's bravery for seven years now, and will continue to do so."

Unveiling the new award, selection committee chairperson, Dr. Jabulani Nyenwa, said the "award is given only to a deserving individual or institution whose actions have made a remarkable impact on the tide of the epidemic in Zimbabwe" whose selection was "subjected to rigorous assessment to measure impact, relevance, integrity and quality."

Foster could not attend the awards ceremony presided over by James McGee, U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe and David Parirenyatwa, the Minister of Health and Child Welfare, citing the shortage of doctors at the hospital.

Organizers of the awards event noted that Foster "formed Family AIDS Care Trust - Mutare in 1987 after noticing that medical responses to HIV and AIDS were not enough, and that communities needed to become more involved in meeting the broader needs of children infected and affected by HIV," said Nyenwa.

The arts and media awards went to Patsimeredu Edutainment Trust and Bhingi Werks Unlimited, both theatre groups who were honored for using theatre for developing strategies to engage the public on HIV and AIDS.

"The media is a key factor in the fight against HIV and AIDS. The panelists were encouraged by evidence that several community based journalists have now taken a keen interest in reporting HIV and AIDS. However, the organisers responded to the need to acknowledge other media forms such as theatre," said Nyenwa.

The award for breakers of silence went to Pastor Maxwell Kapachawo whose "actions and interventions have significantly contributed to breaking the silence around HIV and AIDS in the church." Kapachawo publicly disclosed his HIV positive status to the nation through the media becoming the first religious leader to openly acknowledge his status. Bulawayo College of Education lecturer Davis Mazodze was also honored in the same category.

Batsirai Group received an award for its contribution to HIV and AIDS prevention and support of the infected and affected in Zvimba district. The organization was established in 1988, and since then, has selflessly built the capacity of smaller community based groups in an effort to scale-up community based HIV and AIDS interventions. Sister Itayi Marembo was honored for her work in empowering girls in her community, using creative and sustainable ways such as poetry and drama to provide information on HIV and AIDS.

Rebecca Chiroodza, won the community award for her outstanding and consistent contribution to mitigating the pandemic. Mwema Adam was runner up in the category. Mwema established many support groups and built their capacity to provide psychosocial support.

Sister Pia Chikava also scooped an award in the Orphaned and Vulnerable children and Youth category for going "beyond the normal call of duty for the past 40 yrs to provide humanitarian assistance especially around HIV and AIDS services to orphans and vulnerable children including the youth in the Midlands province. Farm Orphan Support Trust (FOST ) were runners up in the category for its commitment to finding sustainable ways to reducing the impact and mitigating the effects of HIV and AIDS on children and young people in farm communities.

In the corporate sector category, Zimbabwe Platinum Mines was recognized for its significant contribution in mitigating the HIV and AIDS crisis in the workplace and the community by putting in place a comprehensive work-based policy and program. The runner up award in the category went to the Royal Harare Golf Club for its "unique" initiative of raising awareness on HIV and AIDS for its staff particularly the caddies.

"The caddie HIV and AIDS program is highly innovative and yet lacks funding. The Club is encouraged to secure partnerships for expansion of this laudable program," noted the organizers.

The Auxillia Chimusoro HIV and AIDS awards are part of a comprehensive support package for HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe by the U.S. Government. In 2007, the U.S. committed US$30 million to supporting various HIV and AIDS activities in Zimbabwe managed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US Department of State, the Department of Defense, and USAID.

"USAID is supporting voluntary counseling and testing centers, successful commercial sales of male and female condoms, orphans and vulnerable children interventions, as well as pediatric AIDS prevention, home-based care activities, and supply and delivery of ante-retroviral to selected sites. Additionally, we supply food and nutrition to those who are chronically ill or vulnerable and to hospitals - which is part of USAID's holistic approach to the epidemic," said Freeman.

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